Network of Ancient American Indian Earthworks Named to List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Ohio, 19 Sep (ONA) --- A network of ancient American Indian ceremonial and burial mounds in Ohio described as “part cathedral, part cemetery and part astronomical observatory” was added Tuesday to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Preservationists, led by the Ohio History Connection, and indigenous tribes, many with ancestral ties to the state, pushed to recognize the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks for their good condition, distinct style and cultural significance — describing them as “masterpieces of human genius.”

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee approved the application during a meeting in Saudi Arabia. The massive earthworks join a list of famed sites that includes Greece’s Acropolis, Peru’s Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China.

Constructed by American Indians between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago along central tributaries of the Ohio River, the earthworks were host to ceremonies that drew people from across the continent, based on archeological discoveries of raw materials brought from as far as the Rocky Mountains.

The eight sites comprising the earthworks are spread across 150 kilometers (90 miles) of what is present-day southern Ohio. They are noteworthy for their enormous scale, geometric precision and astronomical breadth and accuracy, such as encoding all eight lunar standstills over an 18.6-year cycle.

--- Ends/Khalid